wkenshail



,J.G.WRENSHALL.'

I Cal Coupling.

No. 104,679. r Ratentediune 21, 1870.

Heal fittest chiming,

JOHN GIWRENSHALL, OE'BALTIMORE, MARYLAND;

Letters Patent No. 104,67 9, dated Jane. 21, 1870.

. IMPROVEMENT m GAR-ClOUPLING.

The Schedule referred to in these Letters Patent and making part of the same.

To whom it may concern 7 Be it known that I, JOHN G. WRENSHALL, of the city and county of Baltimore and State of Maryland, have invented certain new'and useful Improvements in Oar-Couplings, of which the following is a specification.

My invention consistsin the co'mbination,'with the bumper of a railway'car and cheek-pieces arranged inthe same, of a slotted coupling-pin adapted to move up and down,'and to swing backward and forward in theburnper, and a transverse pin, which is held by the said cheelepiedes, and forms the support for the upper end offthecoupling-pin, as hereinafter'described. M

, In a coupler made in accordance with my invention, the pin can, when-its lower end is not caught in the hole or socket formed for it in the bottom of the bumper, swing forward as freely as it can backward,

so that, in case the link is not slack enough to permit the pin to be forced down into the lower hole, the pin, when the link is drawn forward, will frecly'move or swing in the same direction, and will not hold the link.-

This prevents the pinfrom being strained or bro-*- ken, and renders it impossible fort-he coupling to take place, unless the pin is brought to its proper'position. The transverse pin, upon which the coupling-pin is suspended, passes through the cheek-pieces in the bumper, and there is only suflicient of its length exposed to allow it to receive the slotted ooupling-pin, which is placed between the check-pieces, so as to reduce to the minimum all danger of the transverse pin breaking or yielding to the strai-n to which it is subjected.

The check-pieces giveadditional strength to the bumper and transverse pin, and serve to guide the coupling-pin in allits movements.

The nature of my invention, and the manner in which the same is ormay be carried into effect, will be readily understood by reference'to the accompany ingdrawing, in which- 1 Figure 1 is a perspective view of a bumper and pin,

made in accordance with my invention. Figure. 2 is a longitudinal vertical section of the same.

A is the bumber or draw-head of a railway-car, made of cast or wrought metal, and of the usual form' and construction, except in the features hereinafter referred to. a I

.With t is bumper I combine a draw-pin, B, suspended upon atransverse pin, a, and slotted or equivalently-formed, so that it 'may be drawn up or lowered, as occasion requires. I p l z The slot' 1), inthis instance, is formed bybending over the end of the pin, as shownin' fig. 2.

In the lower part or bottom of the bumper is a socket or hole, .0, for the end ofthe pin, which hole is of such size and dimensions as to permit the end of the pin to swing back out of it, when pushed by the entering link.

The pin is not only so arranged as to swing backward in the usual manner, but can as freely swing forward, that is to say, forward of a verticalv plane, passing longitudinally through the axis a, when the end of the. pin is not dropped in the socket 0.

This Iaccomplishby cutting away, slotting, or otherwise forming the upper part of the bumper, as shown at f, so that the pin is perfectly free, when not forced into the socket c, to swing forward and allow the link to be drawn out, without offering any resistance.

After the link has thus been drawn out, the lower end of the pin will rest on. the bottom of the bumper forward of the hole 0, but, upon the re-entering of the link, it is pushed back, the slot b, permitting this mo tion, and, in fact, in whatever position the pin may be-in, it is ready for the link, which, upon entering the bumper, will push it back, and then, having passed back far enough, will allow the lower end to swing forward into the socket c, and thus effect the couplin ft is, indeed, impossible to get the pin in any position in which it will be jammed and inj uriously-strained, as it will not hold or resist the link, until it dropsfully .into the socket c.

In order to'strengthen the bumper, and to properly support and guide the coupling-pin, I form in the me tallic bumper-cheeks D one on 'each side of the pin,

and of suitable size and conformation. These cheeks serve to stiffen the bumper, and give it increased strength, and are also useful in preventing the lateral movement of the pin, and holding it in proper position to receive the link. i

The transverse pin it holds the coupling-pin and sustains the strain which comes upon, the upper part of the coupling-pin, when the cars are in motion.

In order, therefore, to fit it for this use,-it is arranged to pass through the cheekpieces D, which are onlyso far apart as to expose just enough of the pin a to adapt it to receive theconpling-pin. This portion of the bumper is consequently very strong, and the pin a will not bend or buckle, and can only be incapacitated for use by being sheared or' cut off, which accident, owing to the small extent of the pin ex posed, is most unlikely tozoccur.

It will thus be seen that,'in case the cars should be drawn apart before the vertical pin enters the lower slot or hole, the pin will come forward, and thereby prevents breaking or bending of the same.

Another advantage is that this coupling is very simpleaud readily made, and can be used on one car, while the cars in front or rear may be supplied withthe old style of coupling. 'There is also no need of guiding the link, as it rests on the bottom of the bumper with more of itslength in the bumper than out of it, and, as the'rear of the bumper is closed, the link' will be forced forward into the next bumper far enough to allow the pin of that bumper to lock it.

The length of thelink should be abont one-half inch less than the distance from back to back of the bumpers, when they are in contact.

Having now described my invention, and the manner in which the same is or may be carried into effect, 

